Adam-12: Log 1: The Impossible Mission
| next = "Log 141: The Color TV Bandit" }} "Log 1: The Impossible Mission" is the first episode of season one of the American crime drama series Adam-12. It was directed by Jack Webb and written by John Randolph and R.A. Cinader. It first aired on NBC on Saturday, September 21st, 1968. In this pilot episode, Officer Pete Malloy is partnered up with a new rookie officer, Jim Reed, and is reluctantly asked to show him the ropes. Malloy and Reed get into their squad car and respond to calls in the downtown Los Angeles area. Synopsis Having lost his younger partner in a gunfight only three weeks ago, LAPD officer Pete Malloy is ready to go into early retirement. Sergeant MacDonald however, instead saddles him with a new rookie officer, Jim Reed. Malloy is strict with Reed and gives the over-eager 24-year-old a fast lesson in respecting the job and following orders. Their first call brings them to an odd domestic dispute involving two men fighting in the middle of the street; apparently in defense of a young woman who was reported as acting strangely in her car - perhaps even having a seizure. The woman eventually reveals that she was looking for a pet salamander she had purchased from her son, which she believed had escaped from its box. Upon further inspection however, the salamander is exactly where she left it. The second call involves a string of burglaries that had taken place in various shops and convenience stores. Two male suspects were seen driving away from the crime scene in a green Buick. Malloy and Reed interview a store manager, and then get a bead on the suspects. They pursue them in a high-speed chase and eventually force their car off the road into a gulley where it catches fire. Malloy and Reed arrest the two men at gunpoint. Their third call is a medical emergency at the home of two young parents. Their infant daughter Gladys has stopped breathing and the ambulance has not arrived yet. Malloy administer CPR, but things are looking grim. He tells Jim to go into the other room to tell the parents that their child is dead. Miraculously however, Malloy is able to resuscitate the baby. Their next call involves a shoot-out between some local thugs and a neo-Nazi. Pete and Jim circle the perimeter and try to get a good vantage point. Pete tells Jim to sit tight, but Reed gets an opportunity and circles behind them, getting the drop on the thugs. Despite disobeying orders, Officer Reed succeeds in stopping the criminals. Malloy however, is not amused. After everything calms down, Sergeant MacDonald arrives and addresses Officer Malloy. He reminds him how Reed's youth and impetuousness is not completely dissimilar to his own. He convinces Malloy to stay on the force and continue working with Reed. Cast Principal Cast Guest Stars Notes & Trivia * Premiere episode of the series. * This episode is included on disc 1, side A of the Adam-12: Season One DVD collection by Universal Studios Home Entertainment, which was released in Region 1 format on August 23rd, 2005. * Stories presented in this episode are based on actual cases, but the names have been changed to protect the innocent. * Writer John Randolph is a pseudonym for series creator Jack Webb. * Fans of the TV series Farscape may recognize actor Kent McCord, who plays Jim Reed. He also plays Jack Crichton, father of John Crichton, the main character on Farscape. Bloopers * During the chase scene, the camera is sped up to make the cars appear as if they are moving faster than they actually are. The effect is quite apparent. * Also during the chase scene, water can be seen splashed across the police car's windshield on the exterior shots, but on the interior shots the water is gone. Quotes * Thug: You guys play rough. * Pete Malloy: You were doing the driving. .... * Pete Malloy: You're not supposed to think yet, junior. It's when you start thinking before you're supposed to think, that you think yourself dead. .... * Sergeant MacDonald: Too bad he won't have someone to hold his hand out there. * Pete Malloy: I did that once, remember? See also External Links * * * * ---- Category:Adam-12/Episodes Category:Adam-12/Season 1 episodes Category:1968/Episodes Category:Episodes with plot summaries